The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Florida Prepares for Irma

People in their vehicles wait in queue to get sandbags at Kissimmee, in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irma making landfall in Florida.Gregg Newton / Reuters

Today in 5 Lines

Congress passed a $15.25 billion Harvey relief package that also includes a three-month extension of government funding and an increase in the debt ceiling. In a closed-door meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Republican lawmakers criticized President Trump for striking a deal with Democrats. As Hurricane Irma nears the U.S., Governor Rick Scott urged more than a million Florida residents in evacuation zones to leave immediately. Republican Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania announced he will not seek reelection in 2018. At least 58 people were killed after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck Mexico.

Today on The Atlantic

An Energized Base: A new poll shows that President Trump is losing support among Republicans. And yet those who still back him are as devoted as ever. (David A. Graham)

Universities of ‘Bad’ Science: Poorly vetted research on the trauma symptoms a victim experiences when sexually assaulted has undermined the ability of those accused to defend themselves against allegations and led to misguided practices at universities. (Emily Yoffe)

A Catholic Judgement: Democratic senators recently questioned an appellate-court nominee about her religious beliefs and how it would affect her legal decisions. But should religion be taken into account for judge nominations? (Emma Green)

A Memo to the Huddled Masses: Immigrants flock to the U.S. in pursuit of the American Dream. But does the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program mean a wake-up call for millions of undocumented Americans? In this episode of Radio Atlantic, reporter Jeremy Raff and editor Priscilla Alvarez join Jeffrey Goldberg and Matt Thompson to discuss what the suspension of DACA means for those directly affected ... and what it means for America as a whole.

Snapshot

Orlando city employees and volunteers fill sandbags for residents as they prepare for Hurricane Irma on September 8, 2017, in Orlando, Florida.

What We’re Reading

Bots, Leaks, and Fake Americans: Scott Shane investigates the mechanisms by which Russian operators used Facebook and Twitter to spread anti-Clinton messages during the 2016 election. (The New York Times)

Time to Work With the Dems: If President Trump wants to get things done, he should go back to what he knows best: making deals. (Matthew Yglesias, Vox)

‘A Doer Not a Talker’: It’s hard to fault President Trump for making a deal with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling, argues Patrick J. Buchanan, because the Republican Congress has proven itself to be incapable of agreeing on anything. (The American Conservative)

Visualized

Minimum Exposure: A cyber attack on Equifax, a major consumer-credit reporting agency, might have affected about 143 million people. Use this tool to see how many times your personal information has been exposed to hackers. (Josh Keller, K.K. Rebecca Lai, and Nicole Perlroth, The New York Times)

Question of the Week

Congress returned from its August recess this week. So we asked you what you think lawmakers should focus on in the coming months. Here’s what you said:

Betsy R. Schneier said legislators need to pass “face-saving immigration-reform legislation, both to save the Dreamers AND to provide a workforce willing to tackle rebuilding after two storms of the century!”

Gerald W. Purmal also expressed an urgent need to help DACA recipients: “No other persons in our country … are ever punished by government edict to suffer the consequences of their parents' actions. Additionally, many of the DACA protected are students and graduates of post-graduate programs such as medicine. Without them, we all lose!”

Randy Brown said that Congress should get back to focusing on Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election: “This investigation must be successful or our country will no longer be great … They continue to damage and try to manipulate and divide us.”

Thanks to everyone who submitted responses, and stay tuned for next week’s Question of the Week.